I guess is was more the reference to the story of the serial killer and the implication the girl was being killed. I do tend to like minimalism in horror movies though. For example you've got Paranormal Activity, which had it's moments (grating stupidity of the characters aside) but the ending was just brutal. The image of her standing over the bed was far more unsettling than that silly possessed demon jump at the camera.

In other found footage news, I watched The Fourth Kind yesterday. I kinda figured it would be dodgy at best, but I do like alien abduction stories. In the end yeah, it was a bit of a mess. The idea of a psychologist becoming delusional after the suicide of her husband and possibly experiencing alien phenomenon is a decent premise and could have made for a great unreliable narrator story but the execution was awful. Why they felt the need to have side by side frames of 'real' and 're-enacted' footage is beyond me.

Yeah, I was wrong to say that we didn't know any more at the end than we did at the beginning, because we certainly did. But that's as much as I can say for it. I just wasn't made to care what was happening, nor to whom it was happening, nor why. Take, for example, the younger sister. They say several times throughout the movie that she used to be a junkie, but that's as far as it goes. At no point did I actually believe that this girl ever used drugs in her life, because the way she was portrayed made her seem pretty straight-laced. So when they all disbelieve her when she says she saw some creature, it was struck me as idiotic. The tension and dread in the movie only built to a certain point, a low simmer as it were, and progressed exactly no further. No breaking point. No climax. No terrifying realization or revelation, as the masters like Lovecraft delivered. All we get is, 'Ooh, there's some hideous creature spiriting people away, isn't that scary?!' and all I can say is, 'No, not really.' I'm not even asking them to show the monster full-on and have a big bloodbath; I'm just asking them to flesh things out a little more and bring the terror home, because aside from an ill-defined glimpse or two of it, all you get is a bunch of hearsay, none of which elucidates the horror any more than my own guesses did - guesses which I already had before the movie even started! So no, this was not a masterpiece. A great idea, definitely, and by no means a complete failure, but mostly a failure? Absolutely.

I can see where you're coming from, but I guess I just watched this movie in a much different way than you did. I didn't find it pants-shittingly, balls-out tense or brutal in the way of Orphan or as sadistic as Megan as Missing, but Absentia was more of a dark, haunting and deeply depressive sort of horror film, as much about its human characters' despair and trauma as it was about the supernatural glimpses. Plus I am a sucker for movies that just lightly sprinkle their plots with supernatural stuff - i.e. gritty/urban fantasy, if you want to call it that. I found Absentia an incredibly effective, atmospheric masterpiece and it really, really left a mark on me the first time I watched it. It's the implications of it, like Failsafe said, that got to me. Your criticisms make more sense now than they did in your first post, but I guess it's just a matter of what kind of horror you like.

For the record, Absentia was ten times better than that Blair Witch nonsense...the ending (of Absentia) did not leave me feeling unfulfilled at all, personally. It was a perfect way to close the story and left me feeling incredibly lost and hopeless - the mark of a good horror movie really. I'm not gonna spoil it, but I think you ought to go check it out, failsafe; you'd prolly dig it.

Good points. As a drama, it works much better than as a horror film. Maybe I'll watch it again a little later and see if my opinion changes. I was a bit harsh in my initial reactions, but that was because the disappointment was fresh.

The Beyond (1981) 3.5/5 {*}Rather slow, this eerie tale which takes place in New Orleans involves a haunted building. A Yankee woman inherits an old N'awlins hotel. As she is having it restored mysterious things start to happen. These incidents are not limited to the hotel; the Book of Eibon apparently follows the woman around. After some deaths at the house, she does some investigating to discover the murder of a warlock at the location decades earlier. Incoherent at times (intentional surrealism?), this film features some classic gore moments. The ending is the greatest, so watch all the way through!

Maniac (1980) 3.5/5 {*}A NYC photographer who has mommy-issues decides to rape and murder some ladies. He's dating a fashion photographer and likes to kill her models. Then he goes after her as his grip on reality fades. Intensely graphic, apparently the bleeding heart feminists came out against this one.

I watched Crank today, it's like Grand Theft Auto in a movie and it's so good.Also the first movie I've seen with Jason Statham, he plays Chev so damn well.Has anyone noticed that he looks a lot like Frank Mullen though? Thought that was cool.

I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey for the first time last night. I didn't understand the ending at all, but at the same time I felt really reassured that that wasn't really the point. It's beautiful, unsettling and fantastically thoughtful, and to top it off, it's a Sci-Fi film with no sound in space, which makes watching it with my flatmate who studies Physics that little bit less prone to pedantry.

I watched 2001: A Space Odyssey for the first time last night. I didn't understand the ending at all, but at the same time I felt really reassured that that wasn't really the point. It's beautiful, unsettling and fantastically thoughtful, and to top it off, it's a Sci-Fi film with no sound in space, which makes watching it with my flatmate who studies Physics that little bit less prone to pedantry.

Also tried watching Eraserhead again (to continue on the fantastically fucked up path, albeit in a different way) after a few years and it's hardly as shocking or effective the second time around, I found. Didn't even bother to finish it. Wasn't in the mood, I guess.

Lawless - 3,5/5Hardy: badassPearce: sick badassShia: his character could be played by anyone and it wouldn't change anything, Kristen Stewart is a better actress.Chastain: babeOldman: who?Nick Cave: haha, lol, great music for sure.

No, it was neither scary nor dramatic. It was banal, boring and uneventful, with no payoff whatsoever, and I want those three hours of my life back.

...What, it only lasted an hour and a half? Oh, could have fooled me.

Nope it was a good movie, for the reasons I already stated. Time flew by for me and I didn't find it any of the things you said, so eh, not much either of us is gonna do past this point besides saying "no, your opinion is wrong."

The Final - 1.5/5

Pretty much a torture horror movie about a bunch of rejected high school losers who can't cope in the real world so they turn on their bullies, tie them up and start to brutally torture them. Could have been an interesting take on high school bullying, but past the first 20 minutes or so, there was nothing of worth. The movie degenerated into a pointless mess and in the end I hated all the characters, even ones who the audience should have liked by the end. I really didn't gain much from watching it and it was mostly just mean spirited and dumb.

This is a Australia/Hong Kong collaboration Kung Fu flick, and I must say it's a pretty exciting ride. You got this Hong Kong inspector traveling to Sydney regarding a case involving a dude from there (strangely enough they speak Mandarin in the film), and things don't go as plan. What you get to learn in this flick, is that Chinese policemen like to beat the crap out of the bad guys instead of doing a proper investigation or planning anything at all. Over the top kung fu action involving breaking anything that stands in the way, with a hefty dose of cheesiness and badass (and cheesy) music. Can be a tiny bit long at times, but it's a lot of fun.

The twist was pretty weird and kind of silly, but it's not any less plausible than Sleepaway Camp or most other old horror films anyway. If you don't like that, then I can't really see how you'd really get into a lot of old 80s horror films anyway - all of them had similarly off the wall things going on. And Orphan made up for it because the girl playing Esther was so damn good of an actress. That performance excuses any silliness in the twist, and the twist never bothered me much anyway.

What I meant by believable was that the film just focused on the family and what they were going through, and the fact that the characters and acting were good made it a step above most other films like it. The fact that it had so little of the tired cliches of other modern horror movies, such as a lengthy backstory on Esther or long scenes of the characters going to the library and reading books, helped it quite a bit too. And it made up for a few jump scares by having them be really good jump scares. The rest of the scary parts in the movie came from how far the movie pushed its characters, and how intense everything felt. Very viscerally heavy, gratifying horror movie.

Ah, see, I really disliked the performance of the actress who played Esther - I thought it was flat and predictable; it's interesting how perceptions can differ. I do agree, though, that the depiction of the family itself was rather well written and acted, in parts at least; Vera Farmiga was very good as the mother, though I thought that was the only good thing in the movie.

Of course, the twist - the sheer plot content of it, rather than the style in which it was done - is no less plausible than Sleepaway Camp or other 80s horror, which I greatly enjoy; the difference is in how the films present themselves. Orphan takes itself too seriously, for lack of a better expression; many 80s horror flicks maintain an atmosphere of unhinged humour, or at least allowed the audience to veer into that mood without thereby immediately ruining the feel.

I certainly agree that this particular scene, for example, is pretty damn funny; I just happen to think it's unintentionally so, especially in light of the earlier, more serious treatment of the family's issues. That's not to say that I think a film can't have, both,'serious' and humorous aspects, or that dark comedy and genuine poignancy are mutually exclusive; that'd be ridiculous. Rather, I thought that Orphan basically tried to present itself as a serious horror film and failed due to the, erm, hilarity of its plot and certain key scenes.

Anyway - once again, emphasising that 'agree to disagree' thing. There are worse modern horror films, I'll grant that; I watched part of "Mirrors 2" last night (not sure what I was thinking, either - I guess I was just transfixed by the sheer awfulness and incapable of reaching for the remote) - good grief, I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at a disembowelment before.

Anyone in particular that you guys have in mind? I don't remember the acting being all that bad. I thought it was a pretty cool movie. Certainly better than about 90% of the modern horror movies you see.

lel. Just one of a few. It's just really stilted and awkward. The whole movie. I only like it because the aesthetics are cool, and the hidden nature of the monsters is awesome, and I love the whole inter-dimensional aspect.It's a great story, and should've just stayed a great story.

I thought The Mist was pretty damn cool... right up until probably the most horrible ending ever conceived. Thomas Jane (we are talking about that one, right?) was about as good as Thomas Jane can be. Whats-her-name that played Mrs. Carmody was probably the worst. It was a faithful adaptation of the short story that utterly, utterly failed in the last 10 minutes.

I really don't see why people disliked that ending so much. I didn't think it was that great of a movie or anything, but I thought the ending was surprisingly good. Their decision to commit mass suicide was sensible, considering they'd run out of gas and running around on foot out in the mist essentially guaranteed a horrible death. Then WHOOPS it turns out the outside world was reacting in a totally believable way. Aside from a bit of ironic timing, everything was believable, and it was a much bleaker ending than I expected out of the film. Way better than if they'd been picked off one by one, or if they had just gotten away. If you ask me, the worst part of the movie was how quickly that crazy religious chick gets the majority to turn on the others. It really needed better writing/acting to make that part stick, I thought.

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MorbidBlood wrote:

So the winner is Destruction and Infernal Overkill is the motherfucking skullcrushing poserkilling satan-worshiping 666 FUCK YOU greatest german thrash record.

Lebowski is one of my favorite movies simply because you can interpret it so many wonderful ways, and come to so many vastly different conclusions based on these interpretations. I'm going to write a long, scattered-brained post about it now.

I recently watched it with the idea in my head from the outset that Walter represented the Old Testament of the Bible, and the Dude represented Christ/the New Testament. It even adds up with Walter's whole Jewish thing, the Torah, etc. It's a sketchy way to look at it, but intriguing nonetheless and not to be entirely discarded.

Then I sometimes notice how much of a linguistic adventure the movie is. There is such an importance placed on language and syntax that I can't help but wonder what kind of game they are playing, if any, with the wording. For instance, a lot of characters - the Dude especially - repeat phrases they heard earlier. This is simply good writing on the Coen Brothers part, because this happens all the time in real life. But also: the ass fucking motif, with Jesus promising to fuck the Dude and co. in the ass next Wednesday instead, and Walter proclaiming that Corvette thrashing is what indeed happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass. Also, Maude is obsessed with language and 'the parlance of our times': "his dick, or his rod, or his johnson," etc. Also see: coitus, etc. The Dude I'm sure is amused by all of Maude's pomposity, but even their little exchanges in wordplay are hilariously revealing about their characters. Is that simply it? Am I reading into it too much? Are the Coen's just exceptionally good at using language to convey character? Or is there a syntax fueled sub-text I am not quite grasping? There has to be some kind of significance of language in this movie. The Stranger, who bookends the film and makes a sole appearance smack-dab in the middle, makes it a point to bring the Dude's foul mouth up to him. Also, let's NOT forget Walter's very carefully chosen wording: "that poor woman, that poor SLUT probably kidnapped herself." Walter always chooses his words carefully, it seems to me - even when being vulgar.

Also noted the green-ness of the females. Bunny Lebowski is a lime green, Maude is a rich olive green.

THERE IS A LOT OF GODDAMN SYMBOLISM AND SUBTLE SHIT IN THIS MOVIE AND IT'S FUN TO WATCH. IT'S ALSO FUNNY. But I don't think I'll ever settle on how I want to interpret it. Which keeps it fresh and fun every time I watch it.

Yeah, The Mist is ass. Cheesy as hell acting and the twist at the end is awful and makes Orphan's twist look like something Hitchcock would write. That's another one I should review sometime.

I didn't like The Mist. I don't know about the acting but I couldn't get past the story itself. The premise was cool but it didn't eventuate into anything interesting or gripping and was always teetering on the dull and unsuspenseful side because it was bogged down with all the external conflict and bickering. I felt the religious elements were unnecessary and purely there to cause conflict, predictable off the bat. It's not that I want the characters to be likeable but I at least want them to man up and think of a way out, one that doesn't involve running blindly outside.

That's about my take too. I haven't seen it in a few years, but I dunno, just not interesting writing-wise; felt very disposable and generic aside from the cool aesthetics that Frog mentioned. The characters were all really stock and they weren't likable at all really. The ending bugged me because of the irony aspect...just felt so hammy and contrived the way they did it. The fact that it ended that way wasn't awful I guess, just the sneering "look at how ironic we are" sort of ending annoyed the hell out of me the last time I saw it.

Yeah, The Mist is ass. Cheesy as hell acting and the twist at the end is awful and makes Orphan's twist look like something Hitchcock would write. That's another one I should review sometime.

I didn't like The Mist. I don't know about the acting but I couldn't get past the story itself. The premise was cool but it didn't eventuate into anything interesting or gripping and was always teetering on the dull and unsuspenseful side because it was bogged down with all the external conflict and bickering. I felt the religious elements were unnecessary and purely there to cause conflict, predictable off the bat. It's not that I want the characters to be likeable but I at least want them to man up and think of a way out, one that doesn't involve running blindly outside.

That's pretty much exactly what I think, too.

The dynamics of the group just felt very artificial and forced, and also rather rushed, as if they really wanted to play through all of these psychological developments that would really take time and careful writing to portray in a believable way, but were too impatient. Honestly, though, while I thought that the characters' decision to leave the supermarket was a rather tepid and inane end to the situation, I actually found the ending to be one of the few vaguely interesting aspects; granted, this is probably because, by that point, I disliked the characters so much that I was glad they died.

The ending bugged me because of the irony aspect...just felt so hammy and contrived the way they did it. The fact that it ended that way wasn't awful I guess, just the sneering "look at how ironic we are" sort of ending annoyed the hell out of me the last time I saw it.

THIS.

I saw the twist coming a mile away. Thought it would have been much better for them to kill themselves and that just be it... nice and bleak.

The Mist was better than most of the movies Empyreal likes. It had tons of problems but was unpretentious and well paced. I'm also a sucker for single-location action movies.

Really the acting was the main problem, I think if the actors (especially in the supporting cast) had done a better job of selling the whole thing more people would have bought the ending. Also maybe they could have fixed up the script around the whole religious zealotry thing to be less cheesy. Anyway other than that it was a pretty decent horror movie, it's not like there are dozens of better ones from recent years. In a healthier genre it'd be forgotten, but yeah, that's pretty much the situation horror is in right now.

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MorbidBlood wrote:

So the winner is Destruction and Infernal Overkill is the motherfucking skullcrushing poserkilling satan-worshiping 666 FUCK YOU greatest german thrash record.